


Emeralds in the Slums

by ThatScottishShipper



Category: Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cheating, Church Sex, Developing Relationship, Don’t repost to another site, Eyes, F/M, Fic Exchange, Flash Fuck Around, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Infidelity, One-sided Don Corneo/Aerith Gainsborough, Past Zack Fair/Aerith Gainsborough, Spoilers, Wall Market (Compilation of FFVII), quid pro quo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:27:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26165623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatScottishShipper/pseuds/ThatScottishShipper
Summary: To escape the Turks, a lost and empty Aerith Gainsborough enters a quid pro quo relationship with the Don she can’t escape from.She becomes accustomed to a world where people take from others.That is until she meets Leslie.*Written for Flash Fuck Around 2020 Exchange.*
Relationships: Don Corneo/Aerith Gainsborough, Leslie Kyle/Aerith Gainsborough
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2
Collections: Flash Fuck Around 2020





	Emeralds in the Slums

**Author's Note:**

  * For [VampirePaladin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampirePaladin/gifts).



Aerith did not have a lot of luck in her love life.

Her first ever boyfriend vanished without a trace, beloved sky blue eyes with a faint green glow were still a bittersweet memory in her mind. It had been because of Zack that Aerith learned she could read a person through their eyes. His had always been friendly, inviting like open skies, but clouded by something painful.

He had always joked about being involved in serious business, but his disappearance left a cold void.

As the flower girl of Sector 5 strolled through, offering delightful hues to Midgar, she continued to see souls through the drained windows of its people. The poorly and the forgotten, with their downcast and beaten expressions. Those desperate souls clinging to the faintest shrivels of hope, glimmers of light inside heavy eyes.

Then there were  _ those _ bright eyes, the kind that were just a little too… off. Like Tseng’s darkened eyes catching the light whenever he came around to request Aerith’s company. Or Reno’s own green eyes that glowered with malicious mischief.

And then there was Don Corneo’s sickeningly lecherous blue leer.

They were all the eyes of those that took, that wanted, but gave nothing in return.

She shivered, no matter where she was in Midgar’s Slums. Every step in the night felt like those hungry eyes watched her, waiting for her to slip up, make a mistake. Just like the other women.

But what was she to do? Wallmarket was one of the few places she was offered sanctuary from the Turks and Shinra… for a price. And she couldn’t keep burdening Elmyra any longer.

A pretty face like hers invited those greedy glares her way, including that of the Don, a man with a neverending taste for pleasure. Her safety (as well as that of Elmyra and her friends in Sector 5) was assured, but she gave herself to him.

But despite it all, that terrible misfortune only served to bring another into her life, a soul with the brightest eyes that reminded Aerith of sunflowers, or at least the ones she read about in books.

Standing by the Manor’s door, Leslie Kyle was certainly the less imposing of the Don’s men. Shorter stature gave off the presence of being a boy among men, and yet Aerith sensed something deeper about him.

As if he too understood loss in a greedy world such as this.

Their eyes, a bloom of green and gold in the seedy night, met whenever Aerith entered or exited the extravagant manor. In him, she sensed a gold heart, reflected in his molten eyes.

As time passed, their eyes met a little more until…

“Hi. Wanna walk me home?”

And to his credit, Leslie did.

Somewhere in the metallic dump, beneath the artificial lighting of the plate above and the chemical scent that polluted the city, they kissed. The church became their haunt, a place the two could fall victim to their desires long buried.

She still remembered their first time, her dress hoisted over her knees, her back pressed against the cold concrete wall. Obscured from the light pouring in, hidden in the shadows, Aerith and Leslie embraced that love.

Their soft pants filled the air, only small yellow flowers in the heart of the church their witnesses, until a flushed finish, serenaded by their unified cries and bodies moving together.

Once was not enough. As the Don became merciless in his cruelty, whether it was upon Aerith or another poor soul, she and Leslie disappeared from Wallmarket, losing themselves in that derelict place of worship.

As the rain fell outside, Aerith gave herself to him upon the pews, away from prying eyes. Leslie gazed upon her with profound tenderness that empowered her with love, a love she had not experienced in a long time.

With every kiss, she forgot the demeaning words following her down every alleyway from lustful men.

With every touch, from her flushed cheek to naked breast, she abandoned the groping palms of a self centered, selfish man.

With every thrust, she let go of the countless times she was just a means to someone else’s satisfaction. Because with Leslie, a mutual respect blossomed, a connection born of loneliness and heartache.

In the dark and desolate slums, two souls became one, rejecting a world that took but never gave. Aerith felt less guilty overtime, her spirit rekindled with someone who cherished and loved her.

And, much like the energy fluttering from the Lifestream, Aerith’s green eyes emboldened, healing from the years of loss and hurt.

Finally, one night, as Aerith lay panting among her own flowers, gazing up at Leslie, she put forward what had been on both their minds, but never said openly.

“Wanna hit the road?”

Helping to adjust her hitched up dress, then caressing her cheek, Leslie answered without hesitation.

“Yeah. Let’s split.”

Tugging her onto her feet, Leslie smirked beneath his cap, knowing the Don would not be a happy man in the morning.  _ ‘Let him. He doesn’t deserve her.’ _

They left the church, embracing not only a future full of frightening possibilities, but a future together. A future where only green and gold existed to brighten the path forward.  
  
A future where two broken souls could live again.

**Author's Note:**

> Written as part of the Flash Fuck Around 2020 Exchange for VampirePaladin. I got Aerith and Leslie from Final Fantasy 7 Remake.
> 
> This is one of the first infidelity stories I’ve ever written so I hope it was okay. I wanted to place an emphasis on Aerith having lost a lot in her life, continuing to lose herself, until she met someone who could remind her to love herself and another again in a mutual way. Midgar is a place where I imagine a lot of taking happens, so meeting someone who wants to help and take care of you would be valued.
> 
> In this story, Aerith is in the hands of the Don in exchange for safety, but is obviously not happy. The Don just takes and abuses others for his own gain. Meeting Leslie and recognising the good in him would be a pleasant surprise leading to more.
> 
> I really liked the idea of Aerith reading someone through their eyes kind of like a soul/aura situation. The scene where she stares into Zack’s eyes always stayed with me, so I wanted to explore that with other characters.
> 
> The title - Emeralds in the Slums - and one of the last lines about “green and gold” refers to eyes. Imagining Aerith and Leslie’s eyes as something as precious as gems in such a dark and dreary world felt nice.
> 
> Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. 💖


End file.
